Control of diabetes mellitus in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia: results of screening campaign

To assess the status of diabetes mellitus (DM) control in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia, all Saudi Arabian residents aged 30 years and above were invited to participate in a screening campaign. Of 197 681 participants screened 15.7% had a previous diagnosis of DM. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected from these patients. Only 33.8% of patients were achieving their glycaemic control target (fasting or random capillary blood glucose 130 mg/dL or 180 mg/dL respectively). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that higher age, current smoking and lower level of physical activity were significantly associated with uncontrolled DM. Hypertension was positively associated with glycaemic control. The overall rate of diabetes control is unacceptably low in the general population of this province.